Carry Me
by WeebCommander
Summary: The evolution of man can come in many forms, and Katsuki Bakugo is no exception. Rated T for swearing and mildly described injury.


It had been too long.

It was _too long,_ damn it!

With the city in a state of grey collapse, the minutes stretched themselves over his nerves, enveloping his senses in white hot fear. Cave-ins were happenning more and more frequently now.

"Come on... Where _are_ you??"

Teams voices we're still weaving in and out of the channel he was on, confirming casualties and plans to regroup.

 _"Lord?? I'm near your position- what's going o-"_

Kirishima's careful words crackled through the static, but were unable to match the fiery screech of his friend's near hysteria. "I NEED TO FIND HIM, WEIRD HAIR!"

 _"Look, I'll keep an eye out, but I'm sure he's okay, man! You need to keep it down!"_

With greater urgency, the blonde stumbled his way through the rubble on the third story of the building they were clearing. His normally self-assured gait suffered clumsily under the weight of not knowing.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT! YOU KNOW THAT USELESS NERD NEVER SHUTS UP! SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT!" Katsuki roared into the com, his voice rising uncomfortably in pitch.

 _God_ he was weak.

No. No time for _that._

"...ka...Kachan?" The ghost of a voice, mouthing just above the chaos.

"DEKU!" A thrill ran the length of his spine, his ears straining, hoping for something more... Anything more to indicate where he was. "DAMN IT, DEKU WHERE ARE YOU!! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!"

A pained groan was the only reply, but it was enough. The light from the smoggy red sun seemed to point the way from an upstairs window. It burst through the ceiling, or rather ,the flooring above, casting tall shadows in the chunks of cement structure.

The rubbish was _moving._

 ** _"SHIT!"_** Katsuki knelt beside the pile, hands hastily tearing pieces of debris from thr heap. "SHITTY HAIR, GET HERE **_NOW_** OR I'LL FUCKING **_KILL YOU!"_**

 _"Did you find him???"_

Always... ALWAYS with the inquisition.

 ** _"NOW, KIRISHIMA."_** He barked, Hero names be damned and not bothering to hear the response. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, STUPID NERD!?? THIS STUFF SHOULD BE _CAKE_ FOR YOU TO LIFT!" Opening his mouth to continue berating him half in relief and confusion, he snapped his jaws shut when a trembling, cream-gloved hand reached toward him blindly from under a particularly heavy rock.

That limb going limp and punctuated by an uneven wheeze poured ice in his veins.

 _"No..."_ he whispered, pulling frantically at the slabs, throwing them carelessly aside in search for another... And another... And another. _"No no no no no... DEKU... STAY WITH ME, **DAMN** YOU!!"_

There was no movement, but he could see more of him now... He was so pale... Midoriya's freckles looked black against his skin.

He dug long after his body went numb, mindlessly deconstructing the load with singular purpose.

Get him out.

 _Get him out, get him out, get him out!!!_

"I'm here!" Kiri's exasperated sigh rang through the hall, his footsteps approaching at a leisurely jog. "What's...?"

Eijirou froze, his palm taking a short rest over his breast at the sight of Lord Explosion Murder, pupils blown wide as if he were a caged animal, clawing ravenous at the dwindling pile. His face... was... _wet..._

Kirishima flew forward, putting his back into clearing Izuku of the heaviest pieces first. One was so heavy and awkward, they both struggled to carefully move it from the side of their teammate's chest.

With his upper body cleared, Kirishima took a step back to prioritize. He put a finger in his ear.

"I need a medic at my location!"

A frantic female voice piped up... Ochako. _"Is it Deku?? Is he alright??!"_

Kiri watched Bakugo clear the last of the mess from their friend and winced at the swelling apparent even in his hero suit. "I don't know, Uravity..."

 _"Give us SOMETHING Red!"_ Sero's normally snarky tone was pinched through the wavering communication. Kiri wandered further from his the unsettling scene, not wanting to exacerbate any more of Bakugo's temper.

Keeping his voice low, he whispered into the com, "Look, he's pretty banged up- he couldn't even use his quirk to clear the roof off of himself."

Katsuki snatched the device from his own ear and promptly exploded it, the familiar feeling of destroying something giving the small boost of reality he needed. For several minutes after Deku's body was clear of the wreckage, he sat there devoid of any feeling. He simply breathed, and took in the blue tint of his childhood friend's lips. His gaze wandered to the swollen knot on that sweaty, perfect jawline.

Everything about this was so… _wrong._

 _"Deku…?"_ An uncharacteristically soft voice left his throat. It sounded so… frightened… he was a child again, and before he could stop himself, he brushed the deep green sticking to Deku's forehead to the side. It wasn't perspiration that clung to the bushy, haphazard curls… no.

There was… **_blood. Much too much blood._**

Instinct threw the oversized gauntlets from his wrists and stole the shirt off his back, knocking his mask askew before it was ripped aside in frustration. Unsure how else to help, he held Izuku's jaw and kept pressure against the weeping head wound. He couldn't move him… any number of things could be busted in that stupid, not-quite-so-weak-looking-anymore body. Katsuki's arms itched, they gnawed at him from the inside… wanting to hold his friend… his reason and truth.

Instead, he settled for huddling close by, the world growing quiet while he tried to stop the bleeding.

"If you die… I'll… _I'll kill you."_ He sniffed, petulantly gritting his teeth and disregarding the distress falling freely from his ember eyes. _"You HEAR me??"_

Shit… how could someone so annoying make him such a mess?

"K..Kachan…"

Bakugou refocused on the slowly emerging forest, glazed and sleepy from behind a thick fringe of lashes. He tried look away, he couldn't keep falling into that gaze… the one that pinched his throat shut and jackhammered against the walls of his ribs. Somehow he couldn't, however. No, not this time when these moments felt precious as though they may be the last.

"Yeah… yeah I'm _here_ … stupid Deku."

If he wasn't mistaken, a soft smile curled Midoriya's lips… but was short lived, being replaced with a grimace. "Ka...chan...it _hurts!"_ he whimpered through clenched teeth.

His breathing began to come shallowly, more quickly. He was hyperventilating… in shock of how badly he had been pummeled.

A warm, meaty hand rested on Katsuki's bare shoulder. "Medic's here," whispered Eijirou's low tenor. "...needs ya to move so he can check him out…"

Kirishima tugged the surprisingly concerned Bakugo back a few feet and held him there, hands placed on either shoulder. They both watched the trauma experts look over Midoriya, checking his vital areas for internal damage.

Izuku's frightened stare was fixed and, much to Kiri's surprise, trained on his oldest friend. Bakugo's body was thrumming with warmth, smoke dancing from his clenched fists. His face was…

Kiri's jaw dropped.

There was pride in his stare, but not the kind that favored the narcissistic. Silently he was urging Izuku on, saying all the things he could never say. That haunting, tragic face told of how lucky he felt knowing the struggling man. Everything they'd gone through… it all compiled, pushing Katsuki off the cliff he'd been toeing for years now.

Looking away, Kirishima swore he'd tell no one what he saw in Lord Explosion Murder's demeanor that day.

"Don't you die… you piece of _shit."_

 _Don't leave me._

"I swear, if you're face is messed up permanently after this… I'll put you down myself to save others the hassle of LOOKING at you."

 _You're beautiful. You're so fucking precious to me. Don't look away from me. Don't you FUCKING dare_.

"I'm not gonna carry you, ya know, so I hope your fucking shitty legs still work."

 _I_ _'d gladly give my back to you if only I could hold you close once… just… just once._

"You're _PATHETIC, DEKU_! I _hate_ you!!"

 _I am nothing without you, Izuku. You are… everything._ _...and I love you._

Even while he was insulted, berated, and shamed, Midoriya held Bakugou's leer with a steady and growing composure. Only when one medic whispered in his ear did his face go slack with closed lids and jaw ajar.

"Carry him." The doctor said, looking to Kirishima, but Bakugou was marching forward, gently scooping his fallen comrade off the crumbled sheet rock and steel rods.

"I got it, I guess. Fucking useless... How is it that you became a hero in the first place?"

 _Let me do this… please_.

Leading the way out of the building, Kirishima would only catch glimpses of tenderness in a man who seemed genuinely devoid of the concept. It was subtle, but there, in the careful swaddle that was his embrace, or the unconscious nuzzle against Midoriya's salt and copper scented crown.

It filled Kiri's heart up, to know that beneath that fiery and obstinate exterior beat the heart of a man. Things would change, or so he hoped; Bakugou Katsuki was evolving before his eyes, and he couldn't feel any more loyal to such a passionate, powerful ally. He was glad it was Midoriya, who could slowly temper and refocus all that misdirected aggression… he was glad 'Kachan' was human and carried love in his arms.


End file.
